Windows 10: I fell for the scam now I'm worried they have everything on my computer

I fell for their scam now I'm afraid they have access to everything on my computer how do I know

:)

 

Worrying scam phone call

I have to say this for scammers. They are endlessly creative and I have been fooled, like when the "US Postal Service" sent me a message about a package that couldn't be delivered. Me, I fell for that one. Fortunately MalwareBytes Premium has real-time protection and blocked me from going to a scam site. Normally I'm the one telling other people to never click on a link, but always go to the website directly. But I'm also human and have bad judgment sometimes. That is why we all need "defense in depth." No magic bullets, just a bunch of tools that can work together. If I need to spend some money, that's OK, because getting scammed would cost m a whole lot more.

 

Mother-in-law fell for a "Windows support" scam. Can I save her laptop?

My mother-in-law fell for a Windows scam. Apparently a window popped up telling her that her computer had a virus, and she should call this number where they would clean it up for her. To cut a long story short, she gave them her credit card number and enabled remote access.

Credit cards have now been cancelled and we're going to (on another computer) change mother-in-law's password for every web service.

The laptop is now shut down and in my physical possession. I do not want to boot it up: they could have installed anything (trojans, keyloggers), which even Avast may not be able to defend against, right?

My plan is to remove the hard drive, mount it on another machine, and copy off any important files.

After that, what's the safest way of resurrecting it? Can I reinstall Windows on the drive without first booting it up? Or is it safe to boot up for the sole purpose of initiating a factory reset?

What other steps should I be considering?

 

Global Computer Support reputable or scam?

I was startled by a message that came across my computer. What? I am no longer sure, but I was warned not to delete the message or my hard drive would be deleted or crash. It scared me. A phone number was listed which turned out to be Global Computer
Support. I was given the option of taking the computer to a Microsoft repair place (where would that be) or use their services for $339. for one year. I am ashamed to say I fell for this. I am disputing the charge through my credit card company.

Are they reputable or a scam? Several web sites say a scam.